Original Bristol Beaufort, RAAF Type B Flying Helmet & Mk VIII Flying Goggles

By 1938 the Australian Government (CAC) had partnered with three local aviation companies to establish the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation with the aim of developing and manufacturing a locally designed and built fighter and fighter bomber.

By early1940, production was already underway with the CAC Wirraway Trainer and the Buffalo single-seat fighter when the 8th production Bristol Beaufort MK I was shipped to Australia to be used as the pattern for the wartime production of an Australian Beaufort. 

The first CAC Beaufort flew in August 1941 with the first 50 examples built being designated as the Beaufort MK V aircraft using the US designed and Australian built Pratt & Whitney engines.

Over the course of the war, 700 Australian Beauforts rolled out of the CAC factory going onto serve with newly formed RAAF squadrons in operations against Japanese forces in New Guinea. They attacked shipping in all areas of the South-West Pacific and sank cruisers, destroyers and submarines, as well as bombing and strafing inland supply dumps and troops. They were also used for routine convoy protection and coastal reconnaissance.

The creation of the Australian CAC also spurred the development of a thriving, home grown aircraft instrumentation and fabrication industry, as local civilian businesses working from supplied British samples and templates, built Australian versions of equipment and components critical to the war effort under licence.

One of these was the companies was Staggs Leathergoods of Melbourne, who had won the lucrative government contract to produce Australian versions of the British flying helmets starting with the Type B, RAF flying helmet.

Working from supplied templates, the Staggs Type B flying helmet became extremely popular with both military trainee pilots, course graduates and seasoned RAAF aircrew. Many Australian trainee pilots and aircrew of Empire Air Trainings Scheme (EATS) took their flying gear with them to Canada for their advanced training and then onto their squadron deployments in Europe and even back in Australia and South East Asia.  
 
This ‘named’ Staggs flying helmet is the Australian version of the British Type B helmet which continued production until mid 1942, when it was replaced with the Australian version of the RAF Type C leather flying helmet although a number of frontline  RAAF pilots and aircrew were reported still wearing the Type B far beyond their replacement.

This Australian produced Type B is constructed of stitched leather with a chamois lining and zippered earphone covers featuring a leather chin strap fastened on the left with a white metal buckle.

On the inside of the helmet on either side of the face, are two snap fasteners with a strip of chamois backed webbing fastened between them for securing an oxygen mask or face protector.

There is a buckled strap across the back of the neck with two thinner buckled straps running vertically above it. Another thin buckled strap is secured across the front of the helmet. A circular ear piece is sewn on either side of the helmet with zippered openings for radio receivers. 

The inside of this helmet carries the 'Staggs Australia' embroidered label and also the name; ‘C Kirkwood  Class 42’. This would tally with the Australian EATS training courses of the same period.

Preliminary research has identified a number of ‘Kirkwood's' who served with the RAAF in Papua New Guinea and two who were attached to RAF squadrons in Britain. There is further writing above the inside right ear cushion which reads: 'Skett Pol’ but further research would be needed to identify this.

Apart from some minor white paint markings at the crown of the helmet, this Staggs Type B RAAF flying helmet is in extraordinary good conditions for an original WWII flying helmet over 83 years old. 

With all zippers in full working order and buckles and press studs still attached and functional, Australian RAAF versions of British flying gear are extremely rare.

Now paired with an original Air Ministry Mk VIII pair of flying goggles odisplayed on a full size, customised manikin head on its 100yr old Mango wood base complete with engraved plaque, magnetic arm and a custom hand-built 1/72 or 1/48 model of the deadly home-grown ‘DAP' Bristol Beaufighter, you have an incredibly rare testament and memento to the courage and bravery of Australian wartime aircrew.

* Note that this Bristol Beaufort Instrument is pictured with a 1/48 scale model rather than the standard detailed, but smaller 1/72 scale. Click on the 'Model Upgrade' option at the top of this page for the larger 1/48 scale.

This DAP Bristol Beaufort Instrument comes complete with detailed Scale Model, Mango Wood Stand & Plaque plus Printed Fact Sheet featuring photo of instrument in aircraft cockpit

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